The Council for Electronic Media (CEM) of Bulgaria, at its meeting held on March 1, 2022, decided to ban Russia Today and Sputnik on the territory of the country.

In order to protect important state and public interests related to avoidance the dissemination of misinformation about the military intervention against Ukraine, as well as content that incites hatred and discrimination and that can endanger the security and public order in the country, and with a view to protecting the public interest related to the provision of impartial information about events of common interest, the CEM shall allow the preliminary execution of this Decision.

“Temporarily restricts the retransmission on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria to audio-visual media services (television programs) Russia Today and its derivatives as well as Sputnik and its derivatives,” the decision reads.

Earlier Bulgaria's largest satellite TV provider, Bulsatcom, stopped broadcasting Russia-sponsored Russia Today on February 25. This was one of the first reactions in the country against Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which began early in the morning of February 24.

So far, Bulsatcom was the only cable operator to stop broadcasting Moscow-run television. The company's executive director Stanislav Georgiev said this was done in support of the Ukrainian people and to condemn Russian aggression.

CEETV notes that other Russian channels like Perviy and Rossiya 24 continue to broadcast their war propaganda in Bulgaria.